Secret Lullaby
by drakien
Summary: Rose had always heard the TARDIS sing Rose/10 friendship


Title: Secret Lullaby

Rating: Err…K+ maybe?

Pairing: Rose/10 friendship

Disclaimer: I am so ridiculously broke that I couldn't even pretend to own anything relating to Doctor Who…aside from the pictures of David that are pasted all over my cubicle. Those are mine.

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Rose had always heard the TARDIS singing. From the first time she set foot inside, it was there in her head. Never overpowering, never distracting…at least, not after she'd gotten used to it. It was like a soft sound in the background; you always knew it was there, but it sort of faded away when you weren't paying attention.

She paid attention at night…well, what she considered night, anyhow. Those few hours she took to sleep, when everything was finally calm and quiet. That was when she really listened to the song the TARDIS sang. It sang of eternity, and of the Time Lords. Not with words, but with images, colors, and feelings. Rose learned about it, about its travels, and about the Doctor. She learned how to tell from the song when something was amiss. It sang the history of the Universe. And it sang her to sleep.

She never gave it much thought, being able to hear the song…she figured everyone heard it the way she did.

**ooxxOXOxxoo**

It was on one of those too-still nights when Rose found herself wandering the ship. She'd woken gasping and drenched in sweat from a nightmare she could only vaguely remember. Hoping to find the Doctor to distract her, she made her way to the control room.

He wasn't there.

"Figures that the one time I'm looking for him he's not where he usually is," she muttered.

Looking around, Rose noticed a small stairwell, tucked away behind one of the supports, that she didn't remember seeing before. She was intrigued; she'd never seen stairs on the TARDIS that went up. Climbing slowly she eventually came out in a small alcove. The swirls of emotion and colors dancing through her mind were more intense here, as though she was closer to the ship itself, and the ceiling…the ceiling was open to the stars.

With a sleepy smile, Rose sank onto a pile of cushions on the floor and stared at the universe as the ship sang her back to sleep.

**ooxxOXOxxoo**

At first, she wasn't sure exactly what woke her up. After a moment, she noticed that the sounds of the TARDIS had changed; it sounded warmer, somehow. Looking around groggily, she was surprised to see the Doctor leaning against the wall, watching her.

"Doctor?"

He raised an eyebrow, and looked puzzled. "You're in my room, Rose Tyler."

Her eyes shot open and she quickly sat up, mortified.

"Oh gods, I'm so sorry! I didn't know…I'll just…yeah, I'll just leave then. Leave you to your…"

"Nah," he cut her off as he pushed away from the wall. "Nothing to worry about." To her astonishment, he toed off his shoes and sank down beside her. Laying back on the cushions, he tilted his head to look at her. "Settle back, then. You looked well and truly knackered when I came up here. Didn't mean to wake you." He frowned slightly. "Still don't know why you woke up, actually…I tried to be quiet."

"It was the TARDIS," she said as if it were the most natural thing in the world. "The song changed when you came in."

"The _song_?" he said sharply.

Rose looked at him curiously. "Well yeah. At least that's how I think of it, as a song. No words or anything, but I know what it's saying. You mean you can't hear it?"

The Doctor blinked rapidly then turned to look at the stars above them.

"Yeah," he finally said, "I can hear it." He took a deep breath. "It's just been a long time since I've known someone else who could hear it like I do."

"What, you mean everyone can't?" she asked, slightly incredulous. "I don't know how you'd miss it!"

The Doctor shook his head. "In our histories, what we know about the TARDISs…they're tied to the Time Lords. Other Time Lords can hear them, but it's so rare that anyone other than a Time Lord was on board…"

"What about your companions, then. Surely one of them…"

"No. And you'd think in 900 years, someone would have said _something_." He thought for a moment. "Did it start after you looked into the Time Vortex?"

Rose shook her head as she propped herself up on her elbow and turned to face him. "I've been able to hear it from the first day I walked inside. I just thought everyone could hear it."

He smirked. "I think you're the first human I've met who did."

"Huh," she said as she laid back down, positioning herself close to his shoulder, but not touching. "Wonder what it means."

He surprised her by shifting around until his arm was wrapped around her and her head rested on his chest, tucked under his chin. Rose stiffened briefly, then relaxed and smiled at the sound of his two heartbeats.

"Means you're special, of course. But I've known that for a long time."

She didn't quite know how to respond to that, so she made a noncommittal sound. They were quiet for a while.

"Did I ever tell you I was born in this TARDIS?" he asked unexpectedly. When she made a disbelieving noise, he continued. "Mmm-hmm. S'true. Time Lords have a different sort of memory than you humans do…we can remember everything. So instead of losing those childhood memories, they stay around. The TARDIS singing to me was the first sound I remember hearing, even before my Mum.

"It'd talk to me, when I was little. Always there, always…well, we called it resonating, not singing. The TARDIS was the one who taught me about our history."

"Yeah, I got those lessons too," Rose admitted. "Your planet…Gallifrey…it was beautiful."

"It was," he agreed. He squeezed her shoulders slightly. "What else has it told you?"

"It sings me to sleep at night," she said shyly. "There's a lullaby…"

The Doctor started humming softly…humming her lullaby.

"Yah," Rose exclaimed, turning her head up so she could see his face. "That's it."

He twisted his head slightly so he could look at her. "You know, I've never heard of it resonating that tune for anyone else."

"What? Any human?"

The Doctor shook his head. "You don't understand. Every TARDIS is different, resonates differently. If there were still other TARDISs around, and I was invited onto one…well, it's sort of like visiting someone's house. It may be nice enough, but something about the atmosphere is just…wrong. It's not your _home_. For us, it's because the resonation is off. And the lullaby…" He trailed off.

"It was special," she concluded. "Only for your family."

He nodded.

"Why me, then," she whispered.

The Doctor smiled. "I think my TARDIS has adopted you."

"Yeah?" she asked. "And what about you, then? That alright?"

He rolled towards her and propped himself up slightly, so he was looking down at her.

"Very alright," he said seriously. Then his face broke into a smile. "I think I'd rather like having you as part of my family, Rose Tyler."

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**A/N: **Yay! All finished. Hope everyone enjoyed the ride, and remember that reviews keep the Daleks away!!


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